IIRCC, that "new range" business produced a caribou in excess of 700 lbs field dressed out on Adak Island, a few years after they were introduced.
On the other side, I talked to a fellow a few years ago that took what he thought was going to be an exceptionally nice ram out of the Tok Management Area up in central Alaska. On walk-up, it turned out to be a dwarf with about a 32 inch head. Looked big thru the optics, tho. Ooops! It was more than full curl, and legal, but the check station guys made them lay out every piece of meat to be sure they had it all, there was so little of it.
As far as cow size goes, my moose book claims that on really good forage, yearlings will sometimes be bred, but this stunts their final adult size. Normaly, they will breed for the first time as 27 month old animals. Presumably very poor forage may do the same, although cows may not breed until they are 3 in that case.
I did notice that the cow elk I shot in Colorado last fall was not as big as those mounted in bass Pro, even though my partner/guide claimed mine was "really big". There could be several explanations for these disparities.
Looks like using "average" size for range determination can be a bit chancy- but then we all probably knew that anyway. But if it's all you have......
Never did get back to the biologists for input on "average" moose depths- but eventually I will.
